Wireless networks are telecommunications networks that use radio waves to carry information from one node in the network to one or more receiving nodes in the network. Cellular telephony is characterized by the use of radio cells that provide radio coverage for a regional or geographic area, with multiple cells arranged to provide contiguous radio coverage over a larger regional or geographic area. Wired communication can also be used in portions of a wireless network, such as between cells or access points.
Wireless communication technologies are used in connection with many applications, including, for example, satellite communications systems, portable digital assistants (PDAs), laptop computers, and mobile devices (e.g., cellular telephones, user equipment). Users of such devices can connect to a network (e.g., the Internet). When these devices send data over the network, gateways in the network allocate resources to communication channels, for use by the devices.